Federal Agencies Release Performance Benchmarks for Energy and Sustainability Goals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 

April 19, 2011

Federal Agencies Release Performance Benchmarks for Energy and Sustainability Goals

Target opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce pollution, and eliminate waste

WASHINGTON – Today, Federal agencies released, for the first time, their scorecards on energy sustainability performance.  These scorecards enable agencies to target and track the best opportunities to improve efficiency, reduce pollution, and eliminate waste. Under Executive Order 13514, President Obama directed Federal agencies to lead by example in clean energy; and to meet energy, water, pollution, and waste reduction targets. 

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure,” said Jeff Zients, OMB Deputy Director for Management and Chief Performance Officer.  “Keeping Federal agencies on track to meet energy and greenhouse gas performance standards through the OMB Scorecard on Sustainability/Energy should reduce the cost of government by a cumulative $8 to $11 Billion by 2020.”

Based on scorecard benchmarks, each agency will update its Sustainability Plan to address areas needing improvement, and to expand on successes. Agency Sustainability Plans, which are required by EO 13514, are due in June, and are posted publically on agency websites.

"To meet the President’s ambitious energy and environmental goals, agencies need to know where they stand," said Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality. "The agency benchmarks established in these scorecards provide a useful measuring stick to help agencies stay on target to save billions in energy costs over the next decade."

Since issuing the Executive Order in October 2009, the President announced government-wide direct and indirect greenhouse gas pollution reduction targets that will eliminate the equivalent of a cumulative 101 million barrels of oil from its own activities.  These performance targets include a 28% by 2020 reduction in direct GHG emissions, such as those from fleet fuels and building energy use, and a 13% by 2020 reduction in indirect emissions that result from activities like employee commuting and landfill waste. In May 2010, the President announced a commitment to double the federal hybrid fleet, resulting in a fuel efficiency improvement equivalent to reducing petroleum consumption by an estimated 7.7 million gallons of gas, or 385,000 barrels of oil. In June 2010, Federal agencies published initial annual Sustainability Plans. Publication of agency scorecards represent the most recent EO 13514 milestone.

To view individual agency OMB Sustainability /Energy Scorecards:
http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/administration/eop/ceq/sustainability/omb-scorecards

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